Tim Thurston's music choices for the week of April 13th

Off with the sackcloth - dance and sing with the birds in your garden - welcome back Alleluias and Glorias - even if in isolation (I prefer Hibernation). I do hope you heard some beautiful Passion music last week. I was reminded again what a work of towering genius is Bach's St. Matthew Passion. The new recording from King's - on YouTube - is truly wonderful.

MONDAY - G.F.HANDEL - from MESSIAH - I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVETH. The Messiah isn't just for Christmas. There are a number of recordings by a boy treble which are most effective - do avoid soprano wobblers - it's not Brunhilde!! (You know my loathing of vibrato.)

EVENING JAZZ - TAKE SIX is a fantastic male voice gospel/jazz vocal ensemble who wowed the Concert Hall  - and me -  a few years ago.

TUESDAY - CHANT AND WILLIAM BYRD - HAEC DIES - Byrd was one of the great masters of England's Golden Age - His 3 Masses are masterpieces but the brief, impassioned motets are gems too.

EVENING JAZZ - BILL FRISELL. One of the great jazz guitarists - I heard him with Joe Lovano and Paul Motian in Andrew's Lane. He had a period when he returned to his Country and Western roots which I didn't care for - go for the earlier albums on the great Munich based label - ECM.

WEDNESDAY - Samuel Sebastian Wesley - Blessed be God the Father. This is a tour de force for the trebles in a good boys' choir. Wesley was an irascible organist who was fired from a number of English Cathedrals but left us some stirring anthems.

EVENING JAZZ - Lester Young was one of the great early innovators of the tenor saxophone influencing Charlie Parker. See Saturday - Chris Potter.

THURSDAY - CREDO from BACH'S B MINOR MASS. There can be few pieces of music expressing the joy of Easter better than the "Et Resurrexit" in the Creed of the B Minor.

EVENING JAZZ - Michael Wollny, looking about 15 with his floppy hair, is a brilliant Berlin based pianist. He has played a number of times in Dublin - to full houses. Some say that the centre of the best new jazz has moved this side of the Atlantic.

FRIDAY - RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS - EASTER from 5 Mystical Songs. This is a setting of a George Herbert poem for Baritone and orchestra. He called himself a "Cheerful Agnostic" but composed many wonderful hymns and set sacred texts.

EVENING JAZZ - Count Basie's 1958 album The Atomic Mr Basie is my favourite from his band, renowned for almost 50 years.

SATURDAY - Mahler - Resurrection Symphony - In 1887, during the time he was composing this popular symphony, he converted from Judaism to Catholicism - he was particularly drawn to the beauty of the afterlife and Resurrection.

EVENING JAZZ - Chris Potter is my favourite of the young tenor players. His gig  in Whelan's with pianist Craig Taborn was a jazz highlight of recent years.

SUNDAY - RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHANT - What a uniquely beautiful sound this is. Easter is hugely important in Orthodox Christianity - though the date of Easter Sunday is different from ours - based on the Julian calendar.

EVENING JAZZ - The UK jazz scene is thriving and there are some very fine players - pianist Kit Downes is most impressive, lyrical and sometimes free and very exciting with an amazing technique.